Cafe Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese

[Anonymous]

My kids are obsessed with this macaroni and cheese and a google search is yielding me nothing. Anyone out there have an idea how to make it at home? I've only made a baked mac n cheese and this is a nice thick cheese sauce that coats the noodles but is not baked. I must admit, I'm happy when they can't finish it all and I get the honors!

[Anonymous]

They do have great mac and cheese.

Now I want some.

[Anonymous]

I think that it takes an enormous amount of fat, cheese, and salt to make it

Just double everything except the pasta for the recipe you make at home, and you'll probably come close.

[Anonymous]

Outback also has a-w-e-s-o-m-e mac and cheese. Mmmmm....

[Anonymous]

Another interested parent here! My son won't touch the boxed mac-n-cheese stuff; at home he only eats pasta noodles with grated parmesan and a bit of olive oil. (BTW he's not a gourmet at all, just picky in weird ways.) Somewhere along the line he became obsessed with the Cafe Deluxe version for reasons I can't understand. I'm sure it's totally unhealthy but I do wish I could replicate it at home on occasion.

[Anonymous]

i think it is gruyere cheese in a basic roux with chives?

[Anonymous]

Clearly, Cafe Deluxe puts meth in their mac-n-cheese.

My son also has powerful attraction to it, and has been known to order two servings, one right after the other. That's what made me think of meth.

[Anonymous]

I always subsitute my fries for their mac-n-cheese! It is gruyere, but they go lighter on milk than most recipes. (You could try the Barefoot Contessa recipe - she uses gruyere, but I think it more creamy than Cafe D) Have you ever just asked the waiter or waitress for the recipe?

[Anonymous]

My son loved this too, but now has moved on to Panera Bread Mac and Cheese

[Anonymous]

Okay, not Op but I couldn't resist emailing them to ask...here's what they said

Well, I can't share the exact recipe, but I will give you some tips.

We use the cavatapi noodles and pre-cook the noodles most of the way. Don't cook the noodles all the way. In a saucepan, sauté the mostly cooked noodles with heavy cream (lots) reducing the cream to the desired consistency. Add in grated gruyere cheese and salt & pepper to taste. Sauté briefly until all ingredients are cooked. We garnish ours with chopped chives.

Substitute any cheese.

Hope this helps. But I also hope you'll keep coming back to see us for the real thing.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP. You rock! I'm the OP and tried a similar recipe the other day and I got a "close but not quite mom" so I'm definitely trying this one this weekend. Woo hoo!

[Anonymous]

You're welcome. I was really impressed that they emailed me back. It sounds like the secret is in the technique of reducing the cream. I just pour it in when I make it. I'm going to try it too. I love CD so even if I master it I'll still go there for other good things on their menu!

[Anonymous]

Sorry to revive this thread but was there today and noticed that the 'kids menu' mac and cheese is orange, while the adult (gruyere one) is white. Which one do the kids love? Do they use cheddar or velveta on the kids' one?

[Anonymous]

06/15/2010 22:58 here. We went to Cafe Deluxe yesterday for some Mac n Cheese for the little guy, and I was suprised that it came out....orange! It's like pasta with cheese whiz! While great to dip fries it, it was not what I was expecting.

In the past everytime we had been there, he had the same Mac n Cheese we got, the gruyere one. I guess now we'll order it as an app, a side, or a sub! I wonder what happened!

[Anonymous]

and I tried the recipe above and it sucked. I think there are leaving something important out.